Snowdon & my big toe

Over the 26 years at camp I have climbed Snowdon a fair few times and I set out to conquer it one more time. This time I had the disadvantage of a sore big toe that I banged on a duck board earlier that morning. The nail was split all the way down, so it was painful enough to cause a limp. But not wanting to look like a namby pamby I didn't drop out. We did Cwm Glas route which is straight up the skree slopes to the side of Snowdon and on to the sharp ridge of Crib Goch. It was quite a challenge but even the 10 year old in our group made it. The view at the top was..well....about 16ft and then cloud. We got soaked and had our last cup of sugary hot chocolate in the Summit Cafe. It is being demolished in a few weeks and replaced with a new one made out of....can you guess? Imagine a mountain next to a disused slate quarry, that has a railway linking the two. What would you build it out of? Not stone from Portugal! But yes, some local councillor has voted for Portugese rock...I wonder where he is going for his golfing break...not Porthmadog that's for sure

Here are some pictures of us on our way up, and one of the amazing mist that rolled in on our way down the Watkin Path.

Criccieth Blues

I have been away for nearly 2 weeks in Wales. I have run a Christian youth camp there for 12 years, and before that went as a youth for another 14. Yesterday 26 years of Criccieth Camps came to an end. The downside of living in Scotland is that winter sets in around early August, which means they have their summer holidays earlier and go back to school when all the English and Welsh are sunning it. This means I can't really run the camp any more as i need to be back at work, school running etc. It was the most emotional thing i have ever done...apart from getting married and becoming a parent. I blubbed all the way from Criccieth to Carlisle...thinking about the many fond memories of the camp. I am not bitter though as I think new leadership will enable it to go on for even longer, giving hundreds of teenagers the holiday of a life time and the space to learn about Christianity in a meaningful way. I got back home to a distraught phone call from Emma telling me to pick up the kids. Our oldest daughter had put a football through one of the church windows...ouch! Welcome home.

Lifting & Shifting

After a half marathon there is nothing I like to do more than shift 2 x 8 ft kitchen units from my inlaws to my garage. That's how I spent sunday morning, much to the amusement of Dunbar residents who saw us driving down the street with them sticking out of the boot, with me holding on. I was trying to imagine the accident claim form...a large kitchen unit came from noweher and hit me. We got a much needed fridge freezer out of it, and it forced me into tidying up the garage. If you buy a house with a big garage, beleive me when I say it won't reduce your clutter. It just increases it and creates another space for it to breed.

Today was nother day of lifting. This time an air hockey table and a very heavy table football. I'd borrowed them from Hallhill for our church youth programme. Yet again I was seen driving down the street with a large object hanging out of my boot. Even the 2 policemen passing looked on in disbelief, but managed to avoid giving me a fixed penalty. I don't know if there is a law that covers it.

Haddinton Half Marathon

Both of us are into running and one of the first things we did when we moved here (apart from finding a church) was join the running club. This has led to us both doing far more running than we had ever known and entering the world of competitive races. On saturday I did my 3rd half marathon of the year. I had not not trained much so was expecting a slow time, plus the course was hilly so I had little hope of beating my nemesis of 1 hour 30 mins. To my amazement I got in at 1h30 55seconds. Not a PB but a good run and great course for the scenery. The results can be found at http://www.helprunningclub.org.uk/ TEXT

G-Cubed Youth Programme

My job is working for the churches in Dunbar and Scripture Union developing youth work. We have just had the annual summer youth programme 'G-Cubed' (God to the power of 3) which is basically an informal coffe bar, table football and a loads of multimedia stuff that aims to explain in a 'yoof' freindly way the Christian faith. One fo the things we did was a photo challenge where they had to go out in teams and get pictures of themselves in different places. This one is them showing a limb, followed by 'something round'. They also hide the identity of the kids so I don't have to get permission to post them here. Anyway, the week went well. The kids kept coming back and is it just me or do other people find this generation of kids are quite ok with faith matters. When I was there age you got a real hard time off your mates if you ever went near a church or said Jesus in another context than swearing. You could spot the Christians a mile away...no mates! Nerdy glasses, ugly and not on anyone elses level. Because I went to church as a kid where some of them went, I used to get really embarrassed if they spoke to me in school and worried anyone else thought I was their mate. These days the Christians are really cool. I met a vicar last week who looked like a scally. No sign of sandals and sock to be seen anywhere!

Nuclear Cows

Dunbar is home to a nuclear power station. Torness is a mjor employer for the town and I am not going to get into a debate about the pro's and con's of this energy. However, you can't help but wonder if there are any leaks or contamination to the local area. When I was up Doon Hill the other day I snapped this picture of the cows with a scary looking cloud formation behind them.
To prove I have no real concerns about our safety, here is a picture of one of my kids with their Aunty Jane bathing in the warm waters of Skateraw Harbour beneath the imposing gaze of Torness.

Here is photo number one, and if it all goes to plan I will stick a load more on here. We have got a Flickr account, but it's not got much space for talking you through the images and explaining them. Every picture tells a story. This one is Belhaven Bay looking out to the Bass Rock from Starvation brae. Starvation Brae is part of my regular running circuit. It is a very steep hill that almost forces you to walking pace. At the top, this is the view, so it's worth keeping fit just for that alone.

The Photo's are working

Ha ha! I can put photo's on. Let's see just how many it allows on this Blog. I am struggling to sort out the links things in mid paragraph. Like here I would want to add my link to our Flickr pages...I will keep trying.

The first picture is from the top of another local hill called Doon Hill. North Berwick and the Law are in the distance, shrouded by sunbeams.

Here it is, a Blog from the Taylor household. Why? err because we are so interesting that the whole world wants to read about me. Maybe not. It's just that everyone I meet seems to be Blogging and I thought I'd give it a whirl to see if I can find a use for it. Meanwhile we can keep those of you who know us informed of what we are doing in Dunbar....it's in Scotland....it famous for John Muir....and cement....and Torness Nuclear Power Station. Wow! I hear you say. Ok it doesn't really sell to you Dunbar's real qualities...so I will try and introduce some of them to you through this Blog. i like taking pictures so if this site is picture friendly we are on to a winner. If not you will see how bad our English is.